Noise can be divided in three groups by frequency, measured in hertz (Hz):
Infrasounds (1Hz – 20Hz), often referred to as low-frequency sounds
Audible sounds (20Hz – 20000Hz or 20kHz), the only range of sounds hearable to humans. The boundaries of these sounds are informal considering age and hearing abilities of various people.
Ultrasounds (over 20kHz), emitted by dog whistles, also used by bats for echolocation.
The effects of (too much) noise
The consequences of exposure to noise can influence not just your hearing ability, but also a lot of important processes happening in your body.
The effects are as follows:
- Loss of hearing, it’s very hard to determine this. Loss of hearing occurs painlessly and gradually.
- Stress, nervousness
- Problems with concentration
- Exhaustion
- Digestion disorder
- Higher blood pressure levels
School environment
We all know school breaks can be noisy, and even noisier if we want to study for that test we didn’t know was supposed to be today.
Considering over 75dB being unhealthy for us it is safe to say schools are louder, 80-90dB on average.
Unfortanunately this affects our concentration and learning capabilities as well. Because of noisy environments like these we may become sleepy and distracted, thus resulting in bad grades.
We also did a little bit of research ourselves. For a week, students involved in the Erasmus+ project checked the noise of each room in our school building during particular hours and breaks.
